Ahh see i never have any leftover starter anymore, i used to be obsessed with not throwing any away as i hate wasting anything, i would go through making so many products just so i didnt have to discard any starter. I have learned now to just about make enough for the recipe i will use and then the starter that i couldnt get out of the jar (literally a thin layer stuck around the sides) goes back into the fridge ready to feed in a few weeks.
If you do not bake often and dont want to make a fresh starter each time, you can spread whatever starter you have left over thinly on non stick baking paper, leave it to dry and keep the flakes in an air tight container and these can be rehydrated and you have a starter ready in 24 hours. I have had flakes for 10 months now and regularly rehydrate some to check its still viable and it always is. I have read that it can keep for years in this form.
Nice video!. I see that you go for a higher hydration than I’ve seen in recipes. When this pandemic began, I hadn’t baked bread in years. A few sources said to aim for 60%, but the dough was too dry. I currently also go as high as 75%.
I can see why they suggest 60% hydration for beginners but the truth is, it just doesn’t make good sourdough! I considered going for low hydration in my tutorial video but settled on a simple fact “you might as well get used to it now” otherwise its another big step to learn later. 60% dough can be kneaded in the traditional way but sourdough is just not made that way.
I’ve started my levain nearly 2 weeks now, keep feeding it because I’ve no time to make bread. Is it possible to make with starter (not discard) this Detritus bread, or you will rather recommend other recipe with kneading? I’ve read a few recipes using a mix of levain with fresh (or dry yeast) together? But I want to make 100% levain bread without commercial yeast to test the starter.
Well, first let’s get some terms straight. Many people use a one-to-one starter: equal weights of flour and water. These starters need refreshing much more often, and produce more discard. Maggie Glezer’s firm starter is five-to-three. Five parts flour to three parts water. It only gets refreshed several days before you use it, so there is much less discard. In both cases the discard can be used for other breads, on its own or as an addition to a yeast bread.
If you want to make a 100% levain bread, I would advise using wheat flour. Most rye flour recipes recommend an addition of commercial yeast at one stage of the recipe. As far as amounts are concerned, here you will have to experiment. When I make a detritus bread, I use about twice as much starter as otherwise. The difference is, the detritus starter has been sitting in the refrigerator for weeks or months, and the fresh starter is, well, fresh.
So the best I can say is that you’ll have to experiment. Last week I made a 50% Sourdough Detritus Rye. This obviously comes from a recipe that I read somewhere, but adjusted it for my purposes. It calls for making a “first sour”, rye flour and sourdough detritus, which is left to ferment for 16 hours. Then some wheat flour and instant yeast are added, followed by two more 2-hour fermentations. It came out great.
Thanks! Interesting to know about the five-to-three starter. Do you use dutch oven with lid to cook the bread? Strangely, with starter, most of the recipes I’ve found, people don’t use the cast iron pot but water tray in oven.
I bake some of my breads in loaf pans, some in a Dutch oven, and some on a baking stone. The last detritus rye was baked on the stone (or more precisely, baking steel).
